The Pakistani policeman who survived the execution receives medical treatment

Pakistani Taliban militants executed 21 policemen who were captured in attacks on their posts late last week, government officials said today.

The men, who were kidnapped on Friday in attacks on three checkpoints near the city of Peshawar, were lined up before being shot one-by-one, officials said.

One man was badly wounded but survived the shootings and another is said to have escaped.

'They were tied up and blindfolded,' Naveed Anwar, a senior administration official in the Khyber region, said.

'They were lined up and shot in the head,' said Habibullah Arif, another local official.

The victims were from a paramilitary force recruited from members of ethnic Pashtun tribes in northwestern Pakistan.

The militias support the government in its efforts against fighters battling the state, it added.

The victims were found in the Jabai area of Frontier Region Peshawar, part of Pakistan's troubled tribal region.

The 23 policemen were kidnapped when fighters armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons attacked their posts. Two policemen were also killed in the attacks.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility and pledged to carry out further attacks on Pakistani security forces.

'We killed all the kidnapped men after a council of senior clerics gave a verdict for their execution.

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The survivor, pictured, was from a paramilitary force recruited from members of ethnic Pashtun tribes in northwestern Pakistan to support the government in its efforts against fighters battling the state

The victims were found in the Jabai area of Frontier Region Peshawar, part of Pakistan's troubled tribal region

A funeral for one of the 21 executed policeman as Pakistani tribesmen offer prayers, in Darra Adam Khel, today

'We didn't make any demand for their
release because we don't spare any prisoners who are caught during
fighting,' said Ihsanullah Ihsan.

17 DIE IN SECTARIAN BUS ATTACK

A suicide bomber driving a vehicle packed with explosives rammed into a bus carrying Shiite Muslim pilgrims in south west Pakistan, killing 17 people today.

Government official Tufail Ahmed said over 20 people were wounded in the attack in Baluchistan province’s Mastung district.

The blast completely destroyed the bus that was hit and damaged a second bus carrying Shiites that was close by

An eyewitness who was travelling in the second bus told Geo TV that the pilgrims were headed to neighbouring Iran, a majority Shiite country that is a popular religious tourism destination.

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The killing of the men followed two
high-profile attacks in Peshawar this month. Suicide bombers attacked
Peshawar's airport on Dec. 15 and a bomb killed a senior Pashtun
nationalist politician and eight other people at a rally on Dec. 22.

The violence underscores the Taliban's ability to carry out high-profile attacks in major cities even as the amount of territory they control has shrunk over the past three years.

In August, the Pakistani Taliban released a video showing what appeared to be the severed heads of a dozen soldiers, after the military said 15 troops had gone missing following fighting with gunmen in the Bajaur tribal district.

Pakistan has lost more than 3,000 soldiers in the fight against homegrown rebels but has resisted US pressure to do more to eliminate havens used by those fighting the Americans in Afghanistan.

The victims were found in the Jabai area of Frontier Region Peshawar, part of Pakistan's troubled tribal region